Disability Studies at UM

09/10/2026

The Department of Disability Studies is pleased to announce the signing of an agreement with CareMalta and looks forward to continue working together.

08/10/2026

Yesterday, the Faculty for Social Wellbeing had the pleasure of hosting a Freshers’ Meeting for our 1st-year students! 🎓✨

The Department of Disability Studies was represented by the Head of Department (HoD), Dr Amy Camilleri Zahra, who joined in welcoming and encouraging our new students as they begin this exciting chapter.

It was a wonderful opportunity to welcome our newest students, introduce them to the faculty, and help them begin their academic journey with confidence and enthusiasm. 🤝📚

We wish all our freshers a successful, rewarding, and memorable journey ahead! 🎉

07/10/2026

📝 Earlier this summer, our team had the opportunity to share insights on the MASCOT Project in THINK Magazine (June 2026 publication).

"Built to Adapt: Engineering a Smart and Sustainable Workstation for an Inclusive Workplace"

The piece explores our work in human-centered workstation design and accessible manufacturing.

For those who missed it, the full article is available at the link below:
https://www.um.edu.mt/l/Byo9p

06/10/2026

🎉 Huge congratulations to Dr Georgette Bajada! 🎓✨

We are thrilled to celebrate Georgette Bajada, who successfully defended her thesis, "A Foucauldian Genealogy of Disability and Inclusion in Malta,1945-2025," and earned her PhD!

The Department of Disability Studies couldn't be prouder to see all of her hard work come to fruition.

02/10/2026

Welcome to the team, Dr Lara Bezzina Ouattara! 👏

We’re delighted to officially welcome Lara to the Department of Disability Studies. Dr Bezzina Ouattara brings extensive experience in the area of disability studies, and we can't wait to see the impact she will make on our department and students.

Welcome aboard, Lara! 🎉

01/10/2026

Join us for a workshop about MASCOT as we mark the halfway milestone.

More information 👇

Halfway Milestone! 🤝⚙️️

As we reach the halfway point of the MASCOT project, we are organising a workshop to present our progress, key insights, and developments on designing and testing a smart, sustainable, and accessible workstation.

The aim of this workshop is to collect valuable feedback from participants to help us refine and improve our solutions during the next stages of the project.

Join us for MASCOT: Inclusive and Sustainable Workstations for Persons with Disabilities in Manufacturing and share your perspective!

📅 Date: 17th November 2026
⚠️ Registration: Limited spaces available on a first-come, first-served basis!👉 Register by 30th October 2026: https://www.um.edu.mt/l/opght

🌐 www.mascotmalta.mt

30/09/2026

Last Friday, our Head of Department Dr Amy Camilleri Zahra, together with other project partners from the Department of Manufacturing and Industrial Engineering within the Faculty of Engineering took part in Science in the City with the project MASCOT. A project funded by Xjenza Malta.

It was a fantastic evening bringing science, research, and innovation out of the lab and directly to the community. Thank you to everyone who dropped by our stand and engaged in great conversations!

Science in the City 2026 🚀✨

We had an incredible time sharing information on the MASCOT project with the community this weekend. Visitors got to experience our assistive technology hands-on and see how we're building smarter, more inclusive workstations.

Thanks to everyone who visited our stand!

🌐 www.mascotmalta.mt

16/09/2026

Prof. Anne-Marie Callus, Associate Professor in the Department of Disability Studies, has been appointed Rector’s Delegate on Universal Design. Through this new role, Prof. Callus will be collaborating with the Rectorate and with various entities within the University of Malta working at enhancing accessibility and disability inclusion. Disability Studies at UM

16/09/2026

Yesterday Head of Department Dr Amy Camilleri Zahra presented her research at the conference Embodied Lives: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue on the Body.

In her paper she presented three metaphors of the disabled body that emerged from her research on social representations of disabled women in Malta.

15/07/2026

If you are an autistic young person aged between 15 and 25 and use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) you may be interested in participating in a research interview. You can contact Prog. Anne-Marie Callus on [email protected] or 79706428 or Prof. Ruth Falzon on [email protected] or 79092910.

“This project has been funded through the Voluntary Organisations Project Scheme (VOPS) managed by the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector (MCVS) supported by the Ministry for Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector (MIV)”. This project/publication reflects the views only of the author, and the MCVS cannot be held responsible for the content or any use which may be made of the information contained therein.”